Sarnia city council voted 5-2 in favour of the controversial bylaw. The city is now the fourth Lambton County community backing the ban.

Monday night’s vote was crucial because Sarnia -- with the majority of the population -- could have quashed the bylaw under triple majority rules.

Coun. Dave Boushy, who has been a long-time champion of the bylaw, made a last-ditch effort to rally councillors before the vote.

Boushy said a total of 165,000 children die each year from second-hand smoke.

“It’s about the children,” he told them.

Coun. Jon McEachern said he remembers his youth spent in arenas filled with cigarette smoke. He said it makes sense to put a bylaw similar to the indoor one in place for municipally-owned outdoor spaces.

“I don’t know how I could not ask for a simple nine-metre ban from children,” he said.

The bylaw would prohibit smoking from within nine metres of municipally-owned playgrounds, playing fields and outdoor recreational areas such as splash pads.

But Coun. Bev MacDougall said she envisions problems for community centre operators.

MacDougall, who runs the Lochiel Kiwanis Community Centre, said the ban will be troublesome for her building which has a playground on site.

Coun. Mike Kelch said he anticipates the bylaw will have its challenges.

“It’s going to cause some problems for some folks... and I’m also sure there’s going to be problems with enforcing it,” he said. “I drive every day and I still see people on cellphones...”

But Kelch, who was on the fence about the bylaw, decided he’d throw his support behind it at the last minute.

MacDougall and fellow Coun. Andy Bruziewicz didn’t vote in favour in the bylaw during a recorded vote.

Under triple majority rules, Lambton County must vote in favour of the bylaw, along with at least six out of 11 lower-tier municipalities holding more than half of the county’s population.